


fall for you

by save_ginny_weasley



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Prom, aromantic Christine - Freeform, christine is aro/ace and you can pry that headcanon out of my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 02:10:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12159462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/save_ginny_weasley/pseuds/save_ginny_weasley
Summary: Jeremy is taking Christine to junior prom, and Michael has no idea why he's so jealous.





	fall for you

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry the title is bad, this is my first fic i've ever published and i usually don't name things

Michael Mell was dreading junior prom. Sure, all of his friends were going, but he didn’t have a date, and his best friend Jeremy Heere did: his dream girl, Christine Canigula. They had been dating since around Thanksgiving and it seemed to be going well, but Michael couldn’t help but bristle whenever he thought about how disgustingly cute they were together. Jeremy was _his_ best friend.

Michael figured he shouldn’t have been so protective over Jeremy; Christine was his _girlfriend_. They were supposed to spend all their time together. Jeremy was supposed to care more about Christine than about him.

And yet, when the two hung out, Michael could tell that something was… weird about Jeremy. He figured at first that it was just the effects of being in his first relationship, but when Jeremy’s awkwardness and refusal to talk much about Christine persisted, Michael started to suspect that something else was going on. He wasn’t sure who to ask, or even if he should ask at all.

Then his phone buzzed, breaking him out of his thought spiral. Jeremy was calling. He picked it up.

“Yo.”

_“Hey, you on your way? Christine and I are just leaving now.”_

Michael picked his keys up off the dresser and went downstairs, having been changed for a while. His outfit was nothing too fancy, but even his mother insisted she take pictures of him in the black suit and thin tie. “Yeah, I’m about to leave.”

_“Great! See you in a few, dude.”_

“Yup.”

Michael assumed Jeremy could hear his dejected tone somehow when he paused. _“Everything okay, Michael?”_

“Definitely, man!” he responded with the usual brightness in his voice. “My attention’s a little divided what with getting in the car and everything, that’s all.” It wasn’t really a lie.

Michael could tell Jeremy didn’t quite believe him, but he continued anyway. _“Right, I should let you go then.”_

“See you in a few!”

_“Yeah, bye!”_

Michael hung up and slipped his phone into the cup holder as he pulled out of his driveway, sighing. What was he going to do with himself if he couldn’t get whatever the hell these feelings were under control? And what was he going to do with Jeremy?

~

Michael parked in the back of the lot at the high school and exited his car into the cool night air, letting the chill calm his nerves. …Wait, he was nervous? Why was he nervous? Did he not want to see Jeremy and Christine being all couple-y? He knew that butterflies kicked up in his stomach whenever he thought about how Jeremy would look in a tux, his hair slicked back…

Wait. No. Shit.

Michael was almost stopped in his tracks by the thought. He wasn’t—he didn’t—Jeremy was his _best friend_. Nothing more, nothing less. And nothing was going to change that. Damn his gay ass for falling hard for Jeremy Heere, of all people.

Michael stopped one last time in front of the door before pushing it open, giving his ticket to the parent volunteer in the hallway in front of the gym, and walking through the cheap streamer curtain over the door into the dark gym, where club music was already thumping and a hundred or so seventeen-year-olds were milling around, some jumping up and down enthusiastically, others hugging the wall nervously. Michael spotted Jeremy somewhere in between the two, talking to Rich and Jake with his arm around Christine’s waist. And damn, he was right, Jeremy looked good in a tux. Like, _really good_. And Christine… wow. Michael was as gay as a guy could get, but even he could tell that Christine was absolutely stunning. Her dress was coral pink and sparkled from the shoulders to the floor. She was beaming; she and Jeremy both looked ecstatic, like junior prom was the best thing to ever happen to either of them. This surprised Michael, because Jeremy hated social functions. Maybe Christine made it easier for him.

Jeremy finally spotted Michael and his face lit up. He gestured the other boy over and Michael adjusted his demeanor again, trying his best to come off happier than he felt.

“Michael! Hey man, you look great.”

Michael tried to conceal his blush. “What? No, man, I should be telling _you_ that! Look at you! You clean up nice!”

Jeremy’s energized expression turned bashful and he looked away from Michael, chuckling. “Shut up, man.”

Michael couldn’t help but laugh at that. Christine did too.

“Jeremy,” she giggled, “he’s right, don’t be so shy!”

Jeremy looked at her and smiled brightly. Michael could see in that one look how much he loved her. He tried not to let it dampen his mood.

An hour passed and the five of them—Jeremy, Christine, Michael, Rich, and Jake—stayed where they were, talking and singing along to the songs they liked. When the time came for prom court to be announced, everyone knew who the winners were going to be (Jake and Chloe) so Jeremy took the opportunity to slip from the gym to use the bathroom. Knowing he wouldn’t catch Jeremy alone again for the rest of the night, Michael followed him.

Michael walked into the bathroom to find Jeremy hunched over the sink, shaking. Michael’s breath caught in his throat so he couldn’t make himself known until Jeremy looked up, his face wet (with tears or water from the sink, Michael couldn’t tell) and saw his friend’s reflection in the mirror.

“M-Michael!” he exclaimed, surprised. He wiped his face on his sleeve, then immediately regretted it and rushed to the paper towel dispenser. “U-Um, I-I…”

Michael’s face contorted with concern. “Jeremy, what… what’s wrong?”

Jeremy clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together, trying to pick his words carefully. Michael let him take his time, but he was nervous. Nothing had bothered Jeremy this much since—Nothing had bothered him this much in a while.

Eventually, Jeremy sighed and closed his eyes, resigned to his decision.

“So, C-Christine and I… we broke up a couple months ago.”

A range of emotions came over Michael. “Oh. That sucks, man…”

“Well…”

Michael narrowed his eyes inquisitively, his silence urging Jeremy to continue. Jeremy chuckled nervously. “Turns out Christine is aromantic. She didn’t know either, really, but she told me as soon as she figured it out. We didn’t really know what to do from there, so we just… kept going out, sort of. We just hung out a lot, pretended to still be dating in front of everyone at school and stuff, but it was weird. It’s been weird. She didn’t want to tell anyone so I’ve been trying my best to act, you know, like her boyfriend around everyone tonight, but _man_.” Jeremy paused, shaking his head. “It’s been tough.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah.” He approached Jeremy and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, Jeremy, if this is really that hard for you, you need to tell Christine.”

Jeremy didn’t respond, so Michael got closer to him and put his free hand on Jeremy’s other shoulder. “Buddy, you don’t really have another option here.”

When Jeremy continued to avoid Michael’s eyes, Michael tried moving away from him.

“Talk to me, Jer.”

“I…” Jeremy began, then closed his mouth again, searching for words. “There’s… another reason Christine and I broke up.”

Michael tilted his head slightly. “Yeah?”

“…I like someone else.”

Michael tried to ignore the way his heart lurched and instead laughed with excitement. “Wow, man, that was fast!”

Jeremy shrugged. “I don’t know if I actually _liked_ Christine in the first place, to be honest. She’s everything I always said she was, don’t get me wrong; she’s beautiful and smart and funny and sweet and all that, but… I think I built her up to be this impeccable, perfect girl over all that time I was _admiring her from afar_ or whatever, and she’s really different than what I thought she was. We didn’t really click.”

Michael nodded along. “I totally understand."

Jeremy smiled weakly at Michael, finally raising his head and making eye contact with him again. “Thanks.”

Michael pulled Jeremy into a tight embrace—tighter than he intended, but when Jeremy almost melted into his arms he brushed the worry aside.

“I’m exhausted,” came Jeremy’s muffled voice from the shoulder of Michael’s suit.

Michael laughed quietly. “I can tell. Hey, I have my car, do you want me to take you home?”

Jeremy immediately shook his head, then lifted it to look at Michael. “I’m not gonna leave Christine. Maybe this weekend we’ll talk, but I need to finish tonight for her.”

Michael smiled softly. “What a good fake boyfriend.”

It was Jeremy’s turn to laugh, and the joyful sound was like a breath of fresh air to Michael.

Michael assumed Jeremy wanted to leave the bathroom so turned to leave, but Jeremy grabbed his shoulder. He stopped, spinning around, trying not to look alarmed.

Jeremy was smiling. “I never told you who the someone else I liked was.”

Michael laughed. “Let me have it, man.” Jeremy inched closer to Michael, and Michael was suddenly hyper-aware of every part of his body and their respective distances to the taller boy. Their noses almost touched, and he could feel Jeremy’s breath on his skin, feel the warmth radiate from his face; both of their faces were flushed red.

“Just… don’t freak out too much, okay?”

Michael was dazed and only could nod.

Before he realized what was happening, Jeremy closed the gap between them. Michael’s brain was fogged but his body seemed to know what to do. Immediately his eyes fluttered shut and his hands moved automatically to Jeremy’s waist. He returned the kiss fervently, hungrily, as though he would never kiss another boy in his life. Jeremy found himself doing the same, with one hand still grasping Michael’s shoulder and the other quickly finding purchase in the shorter boy’s thick, dark hair.

Michael was relieved of his breath faster than he wanted and reluctantly broke off the kiss. He was panting, and his face was somehow redder than it had already been.

Jeremy whined softly at the loss of contact and kept his hand in the other boy’s hair.

“Jeremy Heere,” Michael laughed, a relaxed smile on his face, “you have absolutely no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“I don’t know, you seemed _pretty_ eager, I think I can get an idea…”

Michael’s smile widened and he pressed his forehead to Jeremy’s affectionately. “Shut up. _You’re_ the one who kissed _me,_ remember.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”

A fast dance song suddenly came thumping through the bathroom wall, breaking the boys out of their reverie.

“You should get back to Christine.”

Jeremy slowly pulled away from Michael, sighing. “Yeah.”

For a moment, they just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes with more affection and love than they had felt comfortable expressing before. The look they shared was enough; no words were necessary.

They finally exited the bathroom together, and entered the gym to see, inevitably, Jake and Chloe wearing the prom court crowns, but dancing with their respective dates (Rich and Brooke). Christine was leaning against the wall by the door where the boys entered and smiled enthusiastically at Jeremy. “Hey! You guys good?”

Jeremy took his place at her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leaning into her. “Never better.”

The song that had been playing faded out, and a slow song started to play. Jeremy smiled down at her. “Can I have this dance?”

Christine giggled. “Absolutely.”

Michael watched them move to the dance floor and assume the Slow Dance Position: Christine with her hands on Jeremy’s shoulders and Jeremy with his hands on Christine’s hips. Michael was now able to genuinely smile at the two of them, because not only did _Jeremy Heere like him back what the fuck how did that even happen,_ but also Christine and Jeremy were one hundred percent content with just being friends.

Michael waited another hour or so to go home, bidding Christine and Jeremy a quick goodbye before slipping out of the warm gym and back outside. Despite the sun having already set, there was a slight warm breeze, a sure sign that spring was on the precipice of turning into summer. Michael smiled at the thought of the summer. No one to keep up appearances for, no homework to keep him from his video games (what? No, he didn’t have summer homework for the AP classes he was taking senior year, what are you talking about?), and best of all, he could spend the whole summer with Jeremy.

He laughed aloud to himself. The _entire_ summer, just him and Jeremy!

He couldn’t wait for finals.

**Author's Note:**

> to give you an idea of how long ago i wrote this it was titled "meremy at jprom" in my computer, because back in my day we didn't have boyf riends, we had meremy hell. i've been here a while.
> 
> find me on my musicals tumblr @santa-feeeeeeeeee !!


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